Wings

This project is a trip down memory lane for me, but I decided to post these to follow up on my prop making streak I've been having. My freshman year at RISD I had an assignment to make wings. Literally, wings. We were suppose to make wings inspired my a specific bird, but I was more interested in how a human would actually wear wings. This is what I came up with.

Hawks are mostly what I based my design on. Flying sprinters with shorter wings.

FF VIII: Squall's Gunblade

Hi guys,

So this is going to be a big upload because this project was a long one. I was commissioned by a friend to do Squall's Gunblade from FF VIII. First of all, big swords are awesome and I was super excited to start this project, not only for the big sword, but also to try my hand at weapon making. I've seen some really awesome weapons and costumes around so here is how I did it. I definitely learned a lot and can't wait for another project.

Sketches and the birth of the handle.

Tests for the chamber of the revolver. I needed to know the size and width so I could fit it in the handle

Let me just say the clamps are the best thing ever invented

hand grinding part 1

hand grinding part2

So this is "Great Stuff"... its a hole filler from Home Depot and I had read a lot of people use it for weapons

I wanted to make a rod running down the whole blade into the handle so I added some wire mesh to prevent the foam blade from spinning around.

FOAM!

I cheated a but and used a sander.

One would think drilling holes straight through would be easy, boy was I wrong.

Super sexy barrel

So I also read that people filled the gaps from the holes with paper mache....

Hmmm....

Ok, so a jump forward in time. I was very unsatisfied with how the blade was looking with the "Great Stuff" and paper mache. I was looking for a really nice flat surface, but holes kept popping up and overall, just not very smooth. So this is a different kind of foam (more dense and comes in sheets, not spray). So whats going on here is that I cut the foam in half long wise, sanded out a place for the metal rod and wire frame and weld it together again.
Again, clamps are the best things ever made.... I wanted to make sure that this thing would be sealed shut.

YEEESSSSSSSSS. Much better.

The engraving was difficult to find some reference too, but I think I got pretty close

My right hand man companion....

All sanded and primed handle. I'm really proud of this.

Bent aluminum. I'm also proud of this because I got to turn on a blow torch. hehehe

Finished handle. All shiny and and purdy.

FINALLY FINISHED!

Close up of handle

And this is me with a big sword!

Casting test: Soulgems

So, over the summer, I was really into trying to make multiples of things. Mostly because I wanted to sell some things at Anime Expo.... but also because I love making toys and sometimes its hard to part with an original. I started my experimenting with a small object from a show called Puella Magi Madoka Magica.. or Madoka for short. Its a anime about magical girls that get their power from these things called soul gems. They are different colors depending on the girl, but over all, the form is the same.

Casting is a lot harder than it looks... A lot of trial and error. And in my case, a lot of error. I'll pick this project up again some day when I'm wiser and more experienced with this kind of thing. This is the original I made a mold of and tried to cast. Its a cute little thing

Bioshock Splicer Mask

Hey guys, so this is from a while ago, but I thought I would just post these pics anyway.
If you haven't played any of the Bioshock games DO IT! They are amazing games. This piece is from the first game. Most of the enemies from the game (Splicers) wear these masquerade type masks to hide their faces. There are different types of masks, but I choose the rabbit one.

I was inspired by this mask I saw. It is leather and beautiful.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/106970282/leather-bioshock-splicer-rabbit-mask?ref=market

However, I don't know/ have the materials to work leather, so my version is made out of foam. Sorry, no progress pictures.